DSS cracks Boko Haram, arrest notorious commander

As the decimation and clearance of Boko Haram from their enclave and arrest of key commanders in the North-East continues by the military, the Department of State Services (DSS) has further dented their ranks with the arrest of Bello Danhajiya.

He is presumed deputy of Khalid Al-Barnawi, the right-hand man of Abubakar Shekau, Boko Haram leader. Parading him and some other suspects, they were said to have been allegedly involved in defrauding ‎top personalities in the country.

According to the DSS, the suspects arrested for fraud were identified as Aminu Ado, who was said to have confessed that he defraud Lt Gen Theophilus Danjuma of N1m; David Michika, who allegedly impersonated the Secretary to the government of the federation; Umar Hamza and James Akune, who allegedly duped contractors by promising them jobs at the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs; and Kazeem Usman, who allegedly impersonated Abba Kyari, the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari.

One of the fraudsters, Usman, it was gathered was captured on Friday, April 1, in Lokoja, Kogi state while he was undercover with a false identity, is a founding member of the Jama’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid Da’wah Wa’l-Jihad (Boko Haram) and later the Amir of the break-away faction, Jama’at Ansarul Muslimim Fi Biladi Sudan (JAMBS).

According to a statement by the spokesperson of DSS, Tony Opuiyo explained that Usman is “a trained terrorist commander, who has been coordinating terrorist activities in Nigeria, while talent-spotting and recruiting vulnerable young and able Nigerians for terrorist training by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in North African States and the Middle-East.”

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Opuiyo added that apart plotting attacks in many states across the country, Usman was responsible for the bombing of the United Nations building in Abuja, on 26th August, 2011; the kidnapping of two European civil engineers in Kebbi State in May, 2011, and their subsequent murder in Sokoto State; the kidnap of a German engineer, Edgar Raupach in January, 2012, the kidnap and murder of seven expatriate staff of Setraco Construction Company at Jama’are, in Bauchi State in February, 2013, the attack of Nigerian troops at Okene in Kogi State, while on transit to Abuja for an official assignment.

He said, “You may recall that last week, this service informed the public of the arrest of Khalid Al-Barnawi, known for his leadership and notoriety in terrorism activities in Nigeria,” Garba Abdullahi, an agent of the DSS, told the press.

“Nigerians were also informed of his talent-spotting and recruitment of young people into the Ansaru/Boko Haram terrorist groups. With the arrest of Al-Barnawi, the Department of State Services (DSS) has made an uncommon success in the decimation of these groups and their leadership.”

“Similarly, the service wishes to inform that it has further arrested Bello Danhajiya, a close associate and presumed second in command to Al-Barnawi.

“Danhajiya is a Fulani from Zamfara State and a strategic accomplice of Al-Barnawi. Preliminary investigations have disclosed his involvement in gun-running, cattle rustling and other nefarious criminal activities principally on the directives of his commander, Al-Barnawi. So far, efforts are being made to conclude the investigations and commence prosecution in line with the law.”